Watches are highly collectible items and lately they have been reaching some excessive amounts at auction. Take the Paul Newman, for example, a 1968 Rolex Cosmograph Daytona owned by the famous actor himself. In 2017 it sold for $17.8M at Phillips auction house in New York. Considered the most sought-after Rolex in the world, this Daytona comes from a long line of celebrated watches designed for those with "a passion for driving and speed."
Rolex Watches
Named after the famous racetrack in Florida, the Cosmograph Daytona line of Rolex watches was created for the Kings of Speed like Sir Malcolm Campbell from the Daytona world of motor racing in the early 20th century. Drivers can measure elapsed time and read average speeds on the Daytona’s trademark tachymetric bezel. In 2013, Rolex became part of the world of Formula 1® racing as the Global Partner and Official Timepiece.
1971 Oyster Cosmograph Daytona Rolex
During 2020, on the Antiques Roadshow, a rare 1971 Oyster Cosmograph Daytona Rolex purchased for $346 was valued at $400,000. The watch specialist on the show said the watch was comparable to the Paul Newman Rolex. The watch has been kept in a safety deposit box for more than 40 years and is in incredibly good condition. With the inclusion of the word ‘oyster’ rendered on the dial increases the value of the watch. The paperwork alone is valued at $2,000. At auction, a watch like this would probably fetch anywhere between $500,000 to $700,000. Not bad for a $346 investment.
Women's Wristlets
Before wristwatches became popular, men only wore pocket watches, reserving the dainty wristlets or strap watches for women. A wristwatch was considered a somewhat frivolous and feminine accoutrement. If it weren’t for the women of the royal elite of the early 19th century who cherished such items, the wristwatch may have never been invented.
The Breguet 2639 Wristlet
On June 8, 1810 the Queen of Naples commissioned the great European watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747-1823) to make her a wristlet fine enough for the most lavish courts of Europe. Breguet was famous for his watchmaking skills and brilliant innovations, and had early on in his career developed a successful line of self-winding perpétuelle watches. He also invented gongs for repeating watches and the first shock-protection for balance pivots.
His work was revered in the French courts of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette, and Buonaparte was the first person to buy Breguet’s spring-balanced carriage clock. He fashioned the Breguet 2639 ultra-thin repeating strap watch for the Queen of Naples, complete with thermometer. It was a work of art requiring the skill of 17 craftsmen to complete. Made with mother of pearl, diamonds and rubies, the wristlet featured a delicate band of fine hair and golden thread to compliment the ornate oblong watch face. It was considered the first wristwatch for women and was the beginning of a fashion that lasted for more than a century. The Queen of Naples was one of Breguet's best patrons, acquiring 34 of his clocks and watches from 1808 up to 1814.
Patek Phillippe Wristwatch No. 27 368
In 1868, Patek Phillippe, famous for their keyless winding and hand-setting system, were commissioned to make a wristwatch for the Countess Koscowicz of Hungary. The key-winding lady's watch, No. 27 368 was a work of art and skilled metalwork. Wrought in gold with enameling and diamonds, the watch itself was hidden by a hinged door, so that the whole appearance was an elaborately fashioned golden bangle. Patek Phillippe were also known for their ring watches, adorned in jewels hiding the watch face from view. This trend of secret watches continued well into the early 1900s when secret pendant watches became the fashion.
Ladies' Secret Watches
It was not fashionable at the time for women of luxury to be worried about time. To look at one’s watch was considered impolite and being fashionably late was the norm. So ladies' watches became hidden within exquisitely designed pendant necklaces adorned in the most precious jewels. Haute jewelry brands like Cartier were among the first to fashion the lady’s secret pendant watch. This platinum and diamond pendant watch (c. 1911) sold at Sotheby’s New York. Secret pendant watches are gaining popularity and coming back in style, with Cartier, Bulgari, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Piaget leading the way.
Men, War, & Wristwatches
The first men's wristwatch was basically a pocket watch attached to a leather strap. It was purely a functional design for the soldiers fighting in the Boer War in South Africa from 1899 to 1902. Pocket watches were bulky and cumbersome, and the extreme temperatures of Africa made waistcoats and vests, fashioned with pockets to hold a gentleman’s pocket watch, unsuitable attire. So the wristwatch was invented. Until then, only women would be seen wearing such an item.
The First Pilot's Watch by Cartier
In 1904 Brazilian Alberto Santos-Dumont, a pioneering pilot, appealed to his good friend Louis Cartier to design him a watch he could wear while flying. Like the soldiers of the Boer War, he found a pocket watch too cumbersome and inconvenient to use whilst in flight. So Cartier designed the Santos-Dumont featuring geometric shapes and exposed screws. The watch quickly became an icon for the House of Cartier, later developing into a full line of watches named after Santos-Dumont in 1911. It was not called a wristwatch at the time, because only women wore such things. The Santos-Dumont was a strap watch.
The wristwatch’s reputation as a dainty, feminine piece of jewelry kept it from gaining popularity with men until well into the 1930s. With Rolex stepping into the ring, it was no wonder their design focus was aimed at turning the general public’s opinion around with a line of chunky, functional, masculine watches.
Today there has been a role reversal with wristwatches. Putting aside the haute jewelry masterpieces created for women, wristwatches have become an essential fashion accessory for men and a symbol of success, wealth, and masculinity.